Luxembourg inflation at five-year low

Luxembourg inflation reached its lowest point since July 2009, plummeting to -0.6 percent in December last year.

07.01.2015

A customer pays in euro banknotes in a supermarket in Vilnius on January 1, 2015. Lithuania switched over to the euro on Thursday, becoming the last Baltic nation to adopt Europe's single currency in a bid to boost stability despite fears of inflation and eurozone debt woes. AFP PHOTO / PETRAS MALUKAS

Luxembourg inflation reached its lowest point since July 2009, plummeting to -0.6 percent in December last year.

According to figures published by statistics body STATEC, this rock-bottom rate was heavily influenced by a plunge in oil prices.

The cost of so-called black gold fell 6.8 percent from November to December 2014, bringing good news to motorists as petrol prices tumbled.

When fuel prices are taken out of the equation, the cost of services and products rose by 0.1 percent in December.

This meagre growth was influenced by a 3.9 percent fall in the cost of package holidays, and drops in other prices for example fresh fruit, meat, ham, pork and yoghurts.

But, it was not all good news as consumers shelled out more money for certain other services and products, for example air travel (up 4.6 percent), restaurant meals (up 0.2 percent) and snacks (up 0.6 percent).